


Passings of Nibel

by LordNesquik



Series: Ori Works [2]
Category: Ori and the Blind Forest
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:07:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22779955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordNesquik/pseuds/LordNesquik
Summary: A series of very short stories covering the day-to-day of Nibel's inhabitants after the blindness. No schedule and no guarantees.
Series: Ori Works [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2057112
Comments: 5
Kudos: 42





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Each chapter encompasses its own event or events, and they don't share any particular theme or timeline unless noted. As is customary, Ori is noted as "he" despite canon saying it's up to the player. This makes following characters and dialogue much easier and is only for the sake of convenience.

The Rock Expanse

The Forest of Light had healed miraculously well. The blue aura of the spirit tree shone brightly as it exerted is power to replace the scorched fields that Horu’s eruption had created. Fire was a natural tool of nature to reset and replenish soil after many years of growth, but the amount of land reduced to ash by Horu’s eruption was too large to be reclaimed by Nibel’s flora. With the light of the spirit tree, however, most of the land was already speckled in green sprouts.

Ori stood in the middle of this destruction, peering from side to side at the eerily barren landscape. The ground underneath his left hoof was soft ash which slid and compressed under even his weight, but his right hoof stood firm. Fire was not the only thing Horu had spewed. Great rivers of lava had flooded from its peak as well, and as they cooled, the land they covered became smooth wastes of rock. This supported Ori’s weight far better than the ash, and the border between the two was disturbingly clear-cut.

Ori knew the smooth volcanic rock would never be reclaimed by the lush greenery Ori knew as Nibel. The blindness had caused a permanent change in Nibel’s landscape – a very rare occurrence. This hardly mattered, as Ori was the only spirit who remembered the forest differently.

This truth stung Ori.

Gumo and Naru knew the forest had once been different, but neither of them left their respective homes in the forest often before the blindness. Now, both tended to Ku in Swallow’s Nest, and only Gumo had seen the flat rock expanse. Ori remembered taking Gumo out to see his reaction. Gumo was mostly unfazed, although he was clearly unsettled by the lack of forest ambiance. Ori was too, but he found the silence unsettling for his own reasons.

The land around Horu now coated cleanly in rock was where he once fled Kuro on his final journey to “save” Nibel. As Ori drew closer to where Naru had picked him up, the more distant and quieter the forest’s usual background noise became. Each step seemed louder and louder as his hooves clacked against ever-steeper rock. Sein had suggested naming the new area after Ori in some way to honor him, but Ori declined. Having the blindness’ eternal tomb named after him was no honor he wanted.

By now, he had nearly reached the overlook where Kuro had finally captured Ori – almost for good. It was still unclear to Ori whether the Element of Warmth had been healed by Sein during the blindness. Kuro might’ve stopped Sein before the process was complete, or perhaps returning Sein to the tree was their final move either way. He had asked Sein, but she was hesitant to talk about the past as always, and even she seemed unsure.

Ori pulled himself out of his thoughts. He had reached the overpass. The view of the spirit tree was breathtaking, and the rivers of light which poured from it in every direction lit the forest even in the waning sunlight. Ori quietly meandered through the overlook and sat on the edge, dangling his hooves casually over the drop. He could see the twinkling lights of the new spirits at play under the spirit tree and ancient light pour vaguely across the forest in his direction. With it, a breeze swept through the trees, but Ori noticed it wasn’t from the right direction. He looked up towards the sky to see a glimpse of feathers dive out of his vision.

“You can come out,” Ori spoke, “I’m not angry with you.” On queue, Ku swept out of the air just beside Ori.

“I was just worried, a-and-“ Ku panicked, but Ori cut them off.

“It’s fine, I get it. I would’ve done the same,” Ori reassured them.

For a moment, the two sat in silence. The breeze was calm once more and the forest was bathed in the deep orange of dusk.

“I’m not mad at anyone. I just wanted to see the sunset,” Ori clarified, his voice almost at a whisper.

“Are you sad?” Ku inquired.

“No, I’m alright.”

Ku stared off into the distance. Ori thought his gaze might’ve set on the rest of the spirits, but it was only a guess.

“This is where it happened.” Ku’s voice was morose.

“It is.” Ori shifted on the rock, pulling his hooves from the edge and looking at Ku. They were looking at the ground now, eyes seemingly at their talons.

“Was my mother bad?” Ku asked.

Ori was not entirely taken aback by the question. He had guessed Ku would start wondering about his mother someday, but it was certainly more than he had bargained for in a quiet sunset walk.

“Kuro wasn’t evil. She was just hurt and confused,” Ori responded carefully.

“Then why did she hurt you?”

Ori took another beat to think. Ku was looking up now, inspecting every detail of Ori’s face.

“The deaths of your late siblings sent her spiraling in grief and anger. She believed the spirit tree had attacked her and set out to inflict her revenge.”

“But the spirit tree would never do that,” Ku recalled, confused.

“Of course not. Kuro was driven mad by loss, and the spirit tree was who she thought was to blame. She was hurt because she cared for her children – for you,” Ori said, his tone becoming more confident.

“What do you mean?”

“Kuro was doing the wrong things for the right reasons. The things she did caused pain, but only because she had gone through so much pain herself,” Ori clarified.

Ku looked back away from Ori.

“You aren’t guilty of anything,” Ori insisted, “and nor is Kuro. The blindness was just bad weather. Nobody’s to blame.”

The two sat in silence for some time. Finally, Ku huddled closer to Ori, bringing him under their wing. Ori returned the embrace. The forest may never move on from the past, but Ori knew he could, and he knew Ku could too. It would just take time.


	2. The Gift Basket

To Ori, few things were more enjoyable than the smell of fresh-picked fruit, and no fresher fruits could exist than those hand-chosen by Naru. Carrying a gift basket full of them down to the Spirit Tree without taking one for himself was a great challenge. Of course, Ori wouldn’t dare steal from the basket, but he had made sure to eat a full breakfast anyway – just to make it easier on himself.

Meeting with the new generation of Nibel’s spirits was always sure to put a smile on Ori’s face. Most were born on the same day, so they were tight-knit, and they hadn’t quite mastered the art of navigating the forest yet. There wasn’t a moment where one wasn’t tripping over a rock, a root, or another spirit. Naru seemed to love making gift baskets for them as well, but Ori wondered if it all wasn’t a ruse to get Ori to play with the young spirits.

“Ori, watch out!”

Before Sein’s voice could properly register with Ori, a young spirit came toppling straight into Ori’s right leg, throwing it from under him and flying him face-first into the dirt. Ori almost instantly popped back onto his hooves and spun around looking for the threat only to see a stunned-looking young spirit on the ground in front of him. With a sigh of relief, Ori extended a paw out to the young spirit, who grabbed hold and stood themselves up.

“Heh, s-sorry Ori,” the young spirit apologized, sheepishly looking downwards. Ori knelt to meet their eyes.

“That’s alright, I’m tougher than that. What’s your name?” Ori inquired. The spirit looked up and matched Ori’s gaze.

“My name’s Kur!” the little spirit announced energetically, “My friends are Fer and Pari, but they’re still running around.”

As Kur talked, two more spirits peeked their way from between the trees and slowly made their way towards Ori.

“I think your friends are curious as well,” Ori accused slyly, looking up from Kur at the two spirits joining them. For a moment, they froze and looked embarrassed, but a gesture from Ori convinced them to gather around.

“Naru’s brought you and the rest of the spirits some fruit from Swallow’s Nest – where we live,” Ori explained, raising the basket in his paw. “You can come with me while I take it to the base of the Tree if you’d like.” The tiny spirits were almost vibrating with excitement over Naru’s gift basket, following Ori as he dusted himself off and continued towards the Spirit Tree. They whispered and shoved amongst each other for the rest of the short walk.

As Ori reached Hollow Grove, more spirits gathered around them. Kur, Fer, and Pari excitedly relayed the prior events, with Kur not as excited to be the punchline of several jokes. As soon as Ori was sure all the spirits had gathered, he stood as tall as he could and waved the attention of the gathering crowd, explaining that Naru had sent the spirits another gift basket of fruit. Each spirit picked a fruit, and they retreated to their cliques to eat and talk.

Ori, still sitting under the branches of the Spirit Tree, looked around at the Grove. It was far from what it had looked like during his trip through it when the forest was blind. Bursting with growing greens and spirit blue, the Grove was a haven and a playground for a new generation of guardians. All Nibel’s landscapes seemed to meet and coexist, from the rushing waters of the Ginso Tree in harsh rivers to the towering cliffs of Sorrow Pass scaled down to shattered rock pillars. In between it all, the roots of the Spirit Tree crawled out to separate them inside the Grove.

“It is truly beautiful,” Sein reminisced, “especially so when it isn’t trying to kill you.”

Ori laughed. Sein’s voice echoed from atop the Spirit Tree, but Ori – and only Ori – could hear it clearly.

“I’ve been meaning to spend more time down here,” Ori explained, “but with Ku and-”

“I completely understand. Please, take care of your family first. The Spirit Tree isn’t going anywhere.”

“Thank you, although I think you’re family too.”

It was Sein’s turn to chuckle. “I appreciate the thought but I’m not sure where I would fit into the branches of your family tree.”

“Well, you don’t have to. You can be my guardian. You did save my life.”

“As you did mine,” Sein imposed, in an almost berating tone. “along with all of Nibel.”

“Trust me, I am aware. I’m not sure I’ve gone a day since the forest was restored without Naru calling me her little hero,” Ori giggled.

“Oh, that’s just her way of saying she’s proud.”

Ori sighed, his laughter settling into a smile. He’d never seen Naru happier than after the blindness, and it made all the teasing worth it.

A loud crashing of stone broke Ori from his reminiscence. At once, Ori was on his hooves once again, looking in every direction for a possible cause. The young spirits nearby began to stand up as well, panning their heads around with curiosity.

“One of the Grove’s stone formations collapsed near the boundary,” Sein echoed from the Spirit Tree hurriedly, beating Ori’s question. “There’s at least one spirit there, and… no, it couldn’t be. With haste, Ori!”

Ori nodded and ran towards the source of the sound, following the Spirit Tree’s stretching blue tendrils of light. Ori had mastered the art of using his spirit abilities in perfect tandem with each other and spent as much time off the forest floor as on it. The Grove was not a large area and Ori traversed it before Sein had time to worry him further.

The sight he arrived to was rather mundane: A pair of large stone pillars laying across one another in a pile, clearly recently fallen by the lingering dust. Ori quickly bounded the gap towards the rubble and looked over it. On the other side was a growing-green charger – exactly what Ori had hoped not to see. With no time to decide, Ori leapt over the rubble and ran towards the beast, bashing it high into the air as soon as he got in range. He leapt up in pursuit of it, bashing once more to send it far away from the rubble.

As soon as he recovered from the bash’s recoil, he pulled Kuro’s feather and began to glide towards its landing point. The beast was enraged and rearing to ram Ori the second he touched the ground. With blind faith, Ori let go of Kuro’s feather and summoned a light burst in his paw, precisely tossing it at the rammer below and bashing the burst towards it to return to the air. In an instant, the light burst slammed into the rammer, detonating the creature and itself. Ori returned to gliding with Kuro’s feather and quickly made his way back to the rubble.

Ori began tearing through the rocks as soon as his hooves touched ground. He looked high and low around the broken spires for any semblance of a spirit’s light, but none could be found. It was only when he stopped for a moment did the minuscule rumblings of rock give off the young spirit’s position. Ori rushed towards the noise and threw rubble away to find a beaten-up, tear-sodden young spirit.

“It’s alright, I’ve got you,” Ori tried to reassure, gently lifting the spirit up over his arms.

“Ori, is that you?” The spirit asked, her voice hoarse. She seemed hardly able to keep her eyes open.

“It is. I’m going to get you home. What is your name?”

“My name is Kiro.”

Ori nodded, and began his delicate walk back to the Spirit Tree. The trek was long and filled with Ori examining every rock, tree, and bush of the forest around them to make sure no more corruptions stalked them in the dark. Nothing came forth to attack them, and after a long, tense walk, Ori reached the Spirit Tree.

Young spirits began to call their friends over to the clearing from which Ori entered the forest. They watched from a distance, staring over hills and behind rocks. Ori hunched over Kiro and picked up his pace. Eventually, as Ori drew close to the Spirit Tree, they dispersed.

“Oh, thank goodness,” Sein sighed, relief pouring through their voice. “Who is it? How do they look?”

“Kiro. It’s bad, but we’re safe now. She’ll be fine,” Ori explained, stumbling over his words in panic. It took him what felt like an eternity to pick out the shining waters of the spirit well from the Spirit Tree’s flooding blue light. As soon as he saw it, he pushed himself a last few steps towards it and laid Kiro inside its basin.

Light erupted from the well, surrounding Kiro and restoring her strength. She sat up inside the basin, rubbing her eyes and glancing at her surroundings. Ori paced nervously from left to right across her field of view, seemingly talking to himself. A moment later, however, Kiro began to hear Sein’s response from atop the Spirit Tree.

“If you managed to make it back to the Spirit Tree carrying her undisturbed, there couldn’t have been more,” Sein reassured. Ori seemed unconvinced, and almost began again before Kiro interrupted the two.

“I’m so sorry, Ori, I shouldn’t have –”

“You did nothing wrong,” Ori interrupted, “You should have been safe. It shouldn’t have been there. It couldn’t have been there.”

“Ori, please, calm down. Whether or not there are more corruptions, panic will not accomplish anything,” Sein asserted.

Ori almost began again but stopped himself. He appeared to remember something that made him reconsider his words, but Kiro couldn’t place if it was a cherished or painful memory.

“I just want them to be safe. Ku, the spirits, every innocent being in Nibel,” Ori clarified, breathing intentionally and deeply. “The thought of losing anyone to the corruptions is a waking nightmare.”

“I understand. I’ll keep my eye out for any others. If you must, you can look as well, but please do not let yourself get hurt. Nibel no longer must weigh on your shoulders alone.”

“Thank you,” Ori sighed. His eyes turned back towards Kiro. “While you’re here, can I ask exactly what you saw?”

Kiro blinked in shock for a moment before assembling her memories. “I was walking back from where I was exploring near the edge of the Grove after seeing you heading towards the Spirit Tree. As I was climbing down from the big stone pillars, that green monster rammed into the bottom of them, swinging into them with its side. I fell a long way and got buried in the rocks. It hurt, but I think the monster couldn’t find me.”

Ori’s eyes were wide. “If we hadn’t been so lucky…” He trailed off, his voice laden with terror.

“I will keep the spirits closer to the tree until we get to the bottom of this. For now, go home. I and the Spirit Tree can take care of this,” Sein reassured. Their voice was forcibly calm, but underneath Kiro could tell it was just as flustered as Ori’s.

There was a long pause. Finally, Ori spoke.

“I trust you, Sein,” he said, “but please, tell me if you find anything.” With that, he extended a paw towards Kiro, who took it and stood back up straight.

“I’m sorry this had to happen to you. I wish it could’ve happened to me instead. If you start feeling weak again, come back here and tell Sein. They’ll take care of you, alright?” Ori calmly explained.

“Ok,” Kiro responded, now energetically, “and thank you for saving me!” With that, Kiro rushed back towards the rest of the spirits in the grove.

“Thanks for the help, Sein,” Ori said, wandering back towards Swallow’s Nest. As he left the grove, he saw Kiro eagerly telling her story to a crowd of spirits. Ori chuckled at their mesmerized faces as he idly waved them goodbye.

He spent that night staring out from Swallow’s Nest at the forest below.


	3. A Formal Apology

No matter what order Sein put the words in, they didn’t seem right. She considered doing nothing at all but letting the topic sit would be worse. Avoiding the truth was borderline disrespectful even if it was a difficult one. The Spirit Tree knew it as well as Sein, but he hadn’t said a word. She sometimes wished he would help, that his almost divine authority could set it straight without Sein having to face the issue, but she knew it was no use. This was her responsibility.

She owed Ori an apology.

In honesty, the whole forest did, but specifically Sein and the Spirit Tree would be the most apt to give it. It was their searching flood of light that had caused everything. The death of Kuro’s children caused the blindness, separating Ori from his family and forcing him on an unwelcome adventure. Kuro annihilated every spirit under the Tree’s care, leaving Ori alone in a nightmarish mockery of Nibel. If the Spirit Tree had never come looking, Ori would never have had to leave Naru behind.

It had only been a few days since Ori had restored the forest. Sein knew Ori would visit the Grove soon. They had only known each other during the blindness, and now that Ori knew about the Spirit Tree, he was likely curious how most spirits lived. She wanted to use her power as the eyes of the forest to watch him and learn when he was coming to the Spirit Tree. Spying on Nibel’s newly crowned hero while he enjoyed time with his family didn’t sit right with her, though. She knew she had no right to.

Below, the new spirits played around the base of the Spirit Tree. They were in their infancy, young and bumbling. The very fact they had the opportunity to live at all was a miracle of Ori’s making. It was surreal to Sein how the forest could return from rot and death to its natural state almost overnight. Now, a whole generation of spirits lived in peace under the glowing Spirit Tree. In just days, they were making closer friends than Sein had seen in the spirits before the blindness after countless seasons. Most had hardly learned to keep themselves standing up straight, but they were at each other’s side through it all.

Sein was broken from her distracting reminiscence. One head stood above the rest. It weaved and delicately stepped between the tiny spirits, finding its path towards the Spirit Tree. It was Ori, coming to talk to Sein and the Spirit Tree, and she hadn’t the faintest idea of what to say.

The young spirits looked up curiously at Ori. Sein realized the new generation was, until that moment, unaware of what a mature spirit looked like. He stood tall among the crowd of tiny spirits, alone as the last of his generation, as a field of black eyes gazed up at him with fascination. Ori might make acquaintances of them in time, and his story would be legend, but they would never truly understand their much-older sibling.

All Ori would ever have was his family. Sein hoped it was enough.

“Hello? Can you hear me?”

Once again, Sein snapped back into focus. Ori was calling faintly up from the bottom of the Spirit Tree. His voice sounded confused and shy.

“I can hear you. I can see and hear everything in the forest – though I will only peer outside the grove if you are in distress,” Sein responded, trying to muster confidence.

“Oh, okay.”

Ori looked down, settling into a more comfortable position against the roots of the Spirit Tree. His hooves rested against a curved root while his weight leaned onto the trunk. He had mostly escaped the attention of the young spirits, though a few still looked around curiously.

“How are the new ones doing?” Ori asked, eager to break the silence.

“They’ve been doing for sure,” Sein laughed, “I can’t go a moment without seeing them run, jump, and fall face-first into the dirt.”

Ori smiled, his gaze shifting vaguely to the other spirits.

“How are you doing in Swallow’s Nest?” Sein inquired politely.

“We’re doing great!” Ori started, energy suddenly entering his voice. “Fruit’s in season, Gumo’s been helping us expand the boardwalk, and Kuro’s egg is starting to shake!”

“Goodness, seems like a lot of action! I figured you’d want to relax.”

“I’d have it no other way. To have Naru, to have Gumo, to have everyone safe again…” Ori trailed off, his voice lowering. Sein didn’t need him to finish to understand.

“Ori, I…” Sein started. She’d hoped more words would come to her while she talked. They hadn’t.

“I-I’m sorry,” Ori stuttered, snapping of his daze. “I didn’t mean to-”

“There’s no need,” Sein reassured him. “I understand why you’d be so anxious. If anything, I and the Spirit Tree owe you an apology.”

“I don’t understand,” Ori responded. He looked confused, looking down and rubbing behind one of his ears.

“If it weren’t for the light ceremony, Kuro’s children would never have passed on. I wouldn’t have ever been taken from the Spirit Tree, the blindness would never have happened, Naru wouldn’t have been lost, the Gumon and the old spirits would still be alive-”

“Sein, it’s okay,” Ori interrupted. Sein realized in a flash how carried away she had gotten.

“Really, I mean it,” Sein insisted. Ori kept making his point.

“You didn’t mean to do any of that. You thought I might’ve been in danger, so you did what you could to try to bring me back to safety. All you wanted was to help.”

Sein was caught off-guard. She wasn’t sure what she had expected Ori to say, but it wasn’t this, and it wasn’t this _much_.

“Ori, I-”

“I would’ve done the same, were I in your position. Anyone would have.”

Sein hadn’t the slightest clue how to respond. For a moment, the two sat without talking. The anxiety and fear that had settled inside Sein before their conversation had cleared, replaced with a feeling somewhere between gratitude and shock. Ori glanced upwards towards Sein’s place in the tree. His face was relaxed, his eyes genuine.

“…Thank you,” Sein finally resolved. Ori smiled once more.

“I should go back to Swallow’s Nest before Gumo gets himself into more trouble,” Ori laughed. “Have fun looking after the young ones!”

“Of course,” Sein agreed. Without another word, Ori picked himself up, pushed through the curious crowd of new spirits, and disappeared towards Swallow’s Nest.

Sein idly watched the spirits play. For the first time after the blindness, she felt truly relieved.


	4. Behind Every Good Hero

The first thing Ori did after restoring the Spirit Tree was sleep.

He had spent almost an entire day – sunset to sunset next – running, jumping, fighting, and avoiding death at every turn. So soon as Naru returned his strength to him in a Spirit Well and he saw she was alive, he fell asleep in her arms. His tail fell dead and his ears stood weak as every muscle in his tiny body relaxed. Naru thought she may have mistaken his slumber for death if she hadn’t felt his chest rise and fall against her.

That first night, Ori slept sound and dreamless. The sun had just began to set from its highest point in the sky when he finally awoke. Ori spent many of his first days after the blindness similarly. He would sleep all night and late into the day, wake up to eat fruit Naru and Gumo had been collecting, and spend time with them or the Spirit Tree until he could no longer stay awake.

Ori was, despite his ordeals, a young spirit, and he quickly rebounded from the wear that the restoration of Nibel had laid into him. Before long, he was back to his usual self, spending the whole day active with his family and the young spirits. His nights were either spent sleeping, gazing at the peace of the forest, or pensively watching Kuro’s egg as it shivered.

Most of his nights, anyway.

It was not always so easy.

Sometimes, it was a nightmare, bringing the past back in full reality. His night terrors surrounded him in his fears and sometimes felt so real he could not be convinced he was safe even when he was finally awake. On his worst night, he had ran from Swallow’s Nest and made it to the Spirit Tree before the sight of Sein in her place snapped him out of his trance. He spent the rest of that night crying on the roots of the Spirit Tree.

When they came to him, Ori’s memories of his past obstructed his view of the present. They seemed like they might override his future, reduce him to nothing more than an ember from the fires of the blindness.

He knew they would, if it were not for his one savior.

Without fail, every time Ori’s memories of his past clouded his sight of the present, Naru found him. Wherever he ended up, Naru came to him, cradled him in her arms, cooed to him that the past was done, that everyone was safe, and set him to sleep in Swallow’s Nest.

It took only her voice to sooth his nerves, her care to bring him calmly back into the present. As soon as he laid his head in Swallow’s Nest, he would sleep as deeply as he had after restoring the forest.

And he always woke up in the present.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...is a great mother.
> 
> I wanted to do a more optimistic take on Ori and nightmares, and there's no disputing Naru being a great mom. This idea just worked better short and sweet, I don't think this chapter length will be the norm if I write any more chapters.


End file.
